


Not a Guardian

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Book/Movie Fusion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blizzard of '68, Community: rotg_kink, Easter, Friendship, Gen, Memories, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 23:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1282315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a <a href="http://rotg-kink.dreamwidth.org/2200.html?thread=2702232">prompt on the Kinkmeme</a>:<br/><i>Bunny is not a Guardian, he still does Easter, but the children don't believe in him the same way, believing the egg hunts are set up by regular adults. No one actually realises that Bunny exists. He's very reclusive and comes out of his Warren only one day a year.</i></p><p>  <i>What I want is the Guardians taking on Pitch as per the movie, and Bunny appears to help them, using Easter to foster more belief in them and helping in the final battle before disappearing again.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> Couple of days ago, was commenting that I felt as if I should be being productive and Pooka-Curse ordered me to finish something. So I did. This fic was my oldest RotG WiP, started over a year ago, in Feb 2013. 
> 
> It was greatly inspired by several of Rinpin's early Bunnymund artwork:  
> [Pre-Guardian Bunny](http://rinpin.tumblr.com/post/42814506128/this-was-a-request-kind-of-a), [Bunny in his Green Coat Uniform](http://rinpin.tumblr.com/post/38856742795/i-drew-a-bunny-in-uniform), [The Silly Egg-Glasses](http://rinpin.tumblr.com/post/37305354242/i-doodled-this-bunny-and-i-cant-stop-laughing-at), and [Smoking a Pipe](http://rinpin.tumblr.com/post/38197025740/i-doodled-a-bunny-as-a-warm-up-sketch-8i). 
> 
> And Dave Derrick's '[Prep for Easter](http://www.davederrick.com/story-boards/prep-for-easter/)' storyboards, which were not used in the movie.

* * *

"NOOOOO!!!" Jack yelled as the glowing sand around Sandy began to flicker and die out, consumed by the black Nightmare sand. He was too slow, he wasn't going to make it there in time-

A blast of white light blinded him, sending him tumbling backwards. He blinked several times, trying to get his vision back as he reversed course and blindly flew back towards where he'd last seen Sandy. He could just make out a golden speck when a second burst of white light cut through the night sky, accompanied by the horrifying screams of Pitch and the Nightmares.

He grabbed the goldish blob, wrapping himself around Sandy, who clung back to him, tendrils of dreamsand twining around him as they darted through the sky. Jack could hear something charging towards him, turning his head to see the darker bodies of the Nightmares heading their way. 

He couldn't let them get Sandy. He _wouldn't_ let them get Sandy. 

The ice blasted out of him, like pale blue lightning against the incoming horde, freezing them in the night sky. A white blast cut through the middle, blinding him again and he began to fall, too drained to keep himself, much less himself and the Sandman in the air. 

A second set of hands grabbed him, and they were moving, the wind wrapping around them in a protective embrace until he felt something solid at his back, heard the jingling of Reindeer tack. 

North's sleigh. 

"Are you both alright?" Tooth asked, her voice thick with concern. 

"Gimme a second." Jack said, rubbing his eyes. Ow. That was very much an ow. He blinked several times, the world resolving itself from colour blobs back into details. He looked around, finding the night sky was empty of both Pitch and Nightmares. He glanced over at Sandy, then had to blink and turn away, the usually muted golden glow almost a silver, and bright enough to read by. "You okay, Sandy?" He asked, shading his eyes.

At least the blotchy black stains were gone.

North boomed with laughter. "Sandy is fine." He merrily assured Jack. "Thanks to assistance of old friend." 

"Friend?" Jack echoed in confusion as the sleigh came in for a landing. There were just the Big 3 as far as he knew. Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. 

Jack was not expecting the giant six foot tall rabbit wearing sunglasses, an egg-tipped staff propped against his shoulder as if it were a shotgun. The grey rabbit was wearing a long green open coat, dark brown trousers and a bandoleer across his chest full of brightly coloured eggs, as if the eggs were grenades. 

And he was clearly annoyed. Or as clearly annoyed as a well armed six-foot tall rabbit could be. 

"BUNNY!" North boomed, arms open for a hug, even as he jumped out of the sleigh. Tooth let out a happy squeal, buzzing up into the air. 

"Bloody 'ell, mates." The rabbit growled, pointing something sharp in North's direction, effectively cutting off the hugs. "If ya wanted me ta stop doin' Easter, just needed ta tell me. It's no skin off mah nose." 

.... Six -foot tall well armed annoyed _Australian_ Rabbit. 

Right, like this day hadn't been weird enough as it was. It wasn't as if Jack hadn't already been shoved into a sack, tossed through a portal, informed he was chosen as the next Guardian, fought Pitch Black at the Tooth Palace, discovered he had a chance to find out who he was, and collected teeth across most of the globe tonight already. And fought Pitch Black. Twice. 

Tooth got the Rabbit in a side hug, making a happy squeaking noise. The Rabbit flinched, muscles vibrating as he held himself still, obviously trying hard not to react to the physical assault. "How are your teeth?" She demanded, fingers going for the Rabbit's mouth and got a snarl in return, which showed off the Rabbit's perfectly functional and sharp teeth. Tooth made a happy sigh. 

"Still not as pretty as yours are." Tooth assured Jack, releasing the Rabbit. Jack gave her half-smile back. Right. because he was _so_ worried about that. 

"Who's the sprog?" The Rabbit asked, motioning to Jack. Sandy smiled and waved at the Rabbit, who got a nod in return. 

"Jack Frost!" North happy patted Jack on the shoulder, sending him rocking forward. "Manny choose him for next Guardian. Jack Frost, meet Easter Bunny!" 

Jack opened his mouth to say that he was pretty sure that adults hid the colourful eggs for the kids to find on Easter, then closed it. He'd never actually _seen_ any adults hide the eggs, just watched the kids faces light up in the morning as they found the eggs tucked away. And according to the adults, Jack didn't exist either. 

And then there was the Blizzard of '68.... 

"I'm just riding along for the moment, until I get my memories back." He said instead, shooting North a glare. "What should I call you?" 'Bunny' didn't seem to fit quite right. 

He wasn't expecting the look he got in response, intense bright green eyes studying him over the egg-shaped sunglasses. "Word ta the wise, Frostbite-” The Rabbit said with a grave expression, pushing the glasses back up. "-Ya don't have ta join just cause you're called. There's benefits and drawbacks ta both. And ya can call me 'Aster'. E. Aster Bunnymund, that's me name." 

"Aster.” Jack repeated with a nod and a grin, although he wasn’t sure if being named after a daisy was better than ‘Bunny’. Although ‘Frostbite’ was interesting. First time he’d ever gotten a nickname. He liked it. “Nice to meet you."

"Hah!" North laughed, patting Aster on the back and Jack watched the rabbit's arm jerk, pulling an attack that would have disemboweled North's stomach, something sharp glinting in one grey paw. "Always so serious, our Bunny!" 

"Bunny's the Guardian, well, he would have been the Guardian of Light and Hope." Tooth explained with a grin. "Spring is kind of his season. Easter's the only time he comes out of his Warren." 

Would have been the Guardian? Jack gave Aster a gauging look. So he'd been chosen, and turned it down. That explained his comment. 

"So what I wanna know-" Aster said, sliding what looked like a boomerang into the bandoleer over his shoulder. "-Is what Pitch Black is doing, runnin' amok a few hours before _me holiday_." 

Despite Aster's previous comments about not caring about stopping Easter, there was something possessive about the way he called it 'his holiday', and Jack bit back a grin. 

North's expression fell. "Pitch is attacking. First he appears in my Globe Room, then steals Tooth's fairies and the memory boxes-"

"The boxes?!" For the first time, Aster looked surprised instead of constipated. 

"And my girls." Tooth nodded. Baby Tooth chirped from her shoulder, reminding them that one got away. 

"We collect the teeth tonight." North rumbled. "But tomorrow..."

Sandy had his own job to do, North had a Workshop to take care of, and Jack wasn’t a member of their little band. They needed to get the Tooth Fairies back. 

"And then he attacked Sandy." Aster filled in, crossing his arms with an annoyed look. Sandy, still glowing bright, shrugged back. 

"Since tomorrow is Easter-" North trailed off with a shrug and an eyeroll, hinting broadly at something Jack wasn't too sure about. 

"Spring's about New Life." Aster frowned, rolling the words over. He froze, looking over the glasses to glare at North. "Y'wanna come ta the Warren." 

"And guard the eggs, yes!" North nodded. "Easter, not as big a holiday as Christmas, but still important."

"Easter fosters belief." Tooth added quietly to Jack. Something that was important to the Guardians. Jack clearly remembered the horror as Tooth starting to lose her feathers, the way she'd gone from vibrant to kind of pale. 

Aster made a growling sound in the back of his throat, peering suspiciously at them, primarily North. Jack just shrugged back. He was along for the ride, he didn't know about the history behind Aster and the Guardians, but there was obviously something going on there. 

"Frostbite." Aster finally spoke up. "That ice trick, how far can it spread?" 

"Ice trick?" Jack echoed, confused. 

"When you froze the Nightmare sand." Tooth said, putting a hand on his shoulder for a moment before pulling away. "Right after you grabbed Sandy."

Jack shook his head. "I couldn't see anything." He admitted. "I was blinded by the light. I don't know?" He answered honestly. 

Aster nodded, rubbing the underside of his chin with a knuckle. "Not surprised, the way your ice reflected the light." He mused, before coming to a decision, tucking the staff he was carrying into the bandoleer as well. "Alright. Let's go." 

Jack was just about to ask how when the floor dropped out beneath them.

* * *

Aster's tunnels were like the world's best tunnel slide, Jack letting out a joyful yell as he got his feet under him, spiralling downwards as fast as he could on the huge smooth walls. The others screamed as well as they followed along, North's yell quickly shifting to a booming laugh, Tooth chiming laughter following shortly after. 

The reindeer were clearly not big fans however. 

Jack used his ice to glide to the front of the pack where he could see Aster, bounding along the tunnel with what looked like just the slightest bit of amusement on his face. Jack laughed in delight. So not a total grump then. 

The tunnel opened up into a giant underground cave filled with plants, yet somehow just as bright as daylight. Jack hopped up on top of a rock, avoiding the collision behind him as the others giggled and caught their breath. 

"Welcome ta the Warren." Aster deadpanned, gesturing to the cave. He leaned the staff against a giant stone egg, easily twice as tall as North, then pulled off the bandolier, shrugging out of the long coat, revealing a long lean back covered in strange looking stripes. Aster hung the coat up on a branch, before shrugging the bandolier back on. Jack noticed the shiny leather bracers on Aster's forearms, wondering if he had throwing knives tucked away under there. 

Aster paused, hands at his waistband for a moment, before deciding to leave his trousers on, leaving Jack feeling strangely disappointed. It appeared as if Aster was completely covered from head to toe in soft looking fur, and Jack was kind of curious about how far down those dark stripes went. 

"Alright." Aster said, tucking the sun glasses away in a coat pocket and did a couple of quick stretches. "Follow me lads and ladies." He said, crouching down, his tail wiggling in a manner that was distracting to Jack. "And try to keep up." 

With that, Aster was off and running, bouncing off the tall pillar type rocks that spotted the landscape. Jack let out a yell as he chased after, noticing the way that plants seemed to spring up wherever Aster landed. New life. 

And much nicer than freezing everything you touched. 

Jack followed as the one cave opened up into another one, and another one, each bigger than the last. Giant stone sentinel eggs shepherded gaggles of brightly coloured eggs with little tiny feet along, letting out little groans when the small ones seemed to lag behind. 

"How many are there?" Jack gawked, as he caught up, eventually realising the reason for the pillars. It gave them a clear path without stepping on the veritable flood of eggs below. 

"Millions. Millions of googies." Aster called back with a careless grin, lean muscles gliding under silver-grey fur, obviously proud of his work.

Jack's eyebrows rose. "That's a lot of chickens." 

He got a laugh in return, Aster doing a sharp turn that left Jack struggling to catch up. When he did, they were in a room easily the size of a football stadium, the ground relatively clear of plants. Jack perched on a pillar, just watching as Aster pulled out a boomerang from the bandoleer, twirling it around his fingers for a moment before letting it fly. The ground beneath it seemed to vibrate for a moment, then hundreds of plants sprouted up all around them. 

"Whoa." Jack breathed as the flowers at the top of the plants opened, hundreds, thousands of eggs walking out of them. He stared as they started to march, heading for the exit. 

"Don't use chickens here, Frostbite." Aster smirked as he bounded off again, the white eggs chasing after him. Jack grinned, also taking off after him. 

"Too slow." Aster shouted as he passed by North, who was riding on the back of a reindeer as if it were a horse. Jack giggled and waved as he passed, spotting Tooth and Sandy in the distance, obviously confused about where they were. 

Jack barely avoided getting coated in sprays of dye, getting a snicker in return as he watched the eggs get covered in various bright colours before sliding down twisted vines that not only lowered them towards a river of colour, but left them with interesting spirally marks on them as well. 

North picked up one of the eggs, peering at the little tiny feet, that kept walking, even with the egg upside down. "Strange." He pronounced. 

"I think they're cute." Tooth protested, cuddling a couple of them. Jack bit his lower lip and said nothing, pushing himself and the wind to keep up with Aster as he grew another room full of eggs and sent them on to be coloured, a third and a fourth roomful as well. 

"How many you going for?" He asked as they headed into yet another room. 

"Coupla extra thousand or so." Aster called back. "No big." 

Hah. 

Still, he followed as Aster grew room after room, the giant stone sentinels herding the finished eggs away. Finally Aster stopped, pausing to scratch the back of his head with a hindleg before rising to his feet. "That should do it." He said, glancing back at Jack, motioning him to follow Aster. 

Jack did, going through one last doorway that opened up into a room that was the biggest one yet. Millions of eggs gathered around the curved slopes, hovering in front of tunnels, like some sort of grand central station. 

Aster finally stopped at the top of the hill, where the large Sentinel Egg was waiting with his coat. The Pooka reached into the side pouches of the coat, and pulled out a long clay pipe, idly stuffing it with a roll of tobacco before lighting it with a match. "Wotcha think?" He drawled, dropping into a comfortable looking crouch. 

"Not bad." Jack grinned, crouching down next to him. "Not exactly my thing-" He formed a snowflake, rolling it over his fingers before sending it floating into Aster's face, who blinked, and then chuckled as it dispersed on his nose. "-but not bad." 

"Not so bad yourself." Aster gestured lazily with the pipe, the scent of warm earth and cherry blossoms drifting from it. "Not everyone can keep up with a Pooka." 

"Thanks." Jack nodded, distracted by the scent of the pipe. He knew that scent, it was familiar. He'd just had gotten the faintest whiff one time, but it was teasing at his memory. Something good... 

Aster puffed on the pipe a few times, then blew a smoke ring. Oval, actually. Egg shaped. The entire Warren was eggs, egg shapes everywhere, plants, and Spring. Easter was a lot of work, but hardly anyone knew. "How come you don't take credit for the holiday?" Jack asked. "Like North does for Christmas?" 

Aster mused it over. "I could." He agreed. "But... Been around fer a long time. Very long. M'used ta bein' by meself. Don't like buttin' in other people's business, don't want them buttin' in mine." 

"Ah." Jack grimaced. "Sorry." Like he was butting in now. 

He got a laugh in return, a low rumbling sound. "Not everyone likes the solitude." Aster said, standing up as a large stone sentinel approached, carrying Aster's clothing. "Word o’ advice, since ya kept up with this old rabbit, don't let that be the reason ya decide yer a Guardian or not." 

Tooth and Sandy had full time jobs, with teeth and dreams. He probably wouldn't see them much more than he had in the past, unless something happened, prompting a gathering. North had his Workshop, and Jack knew from personal experience that the Yeti were temperamental, and not all that fond of drop-by visitors. 

But at the same time, after 300 years of talking to himself, it was really nice to actually interact with people, have actual conversations. Even the little casual contact was nice, if strange. And it'd been hysterical when Jamie had woken up and seen everyone, Sandy sending the kid to sleep just before Pitch attacked. 

Jack took a breath. "Pitch has my memories." He said quietly, because at least for this moment, there was someone was there who could listen and talk back. To actually give advice. "The others... Promised to help me get them back, along with the rest of the teeth. I don't know who I was before I was before the Moon named me 'Jack Frost', or what I was, or why he chose me to be like this. And I... I want to _know_."

Aster made a thoughtful sound, rising to his feet. "M’not sayin’ the past doesn’t matter.” He said quietly, taking the bandoleer off and putting the coat on again, broad furry fingers deftly doing up the egg-shaped buttons. "Would it make any difference ta who ya are now? If ya know or not?" 

Jack opened his mouth to protest that of course it did, then he closed it as Aster held up an admonishing finger. He paused, thinking over Aster’s question.

The past was the past. 300 years was a long time, everyone he would have known was gone and dust, and their children, and their children’s children. His entire family, gone. 

He’d like to remember them, if nothing else. 

And Jack now knew why the Man in the Moon had changed him, to become a Guardian. But not why Manny had chosen him, Jack Frost, out of everyone else? 

But as Aster pointed out, just because he was called, didn’t mean he had to answer. Being a Guardian wouldn't change if people saw him or not. Or if people believed in him. 

Only really little kids believed in the Easter Bunny, and that didn't seem to hurt Aster at all. There were lots of spirits people believed in, the Groundhog, Cupid, Leprechauns, and they weren't Guardians. 

Jack had honestly never even considered being a Guardian until North informed him that he'd been chosen by the Man in the Moon. And the other Guardians certainly had never bothered with him until then. If he'd had a chance to talk to them before all this, he might have already had his memories back. 

Jack just wanted someone to believe in him, maybe talk to once in awhile. Someone who saw him, and all the other Guardians had jobs, responsibilities.

The only thing it would change was how strong he was. Which Jack had never cared about before. He was pretty strong as he was, and really wasn’t interested in becoming stronger. And if he didn't have to worry about being tied to the children's belief, he didn't have to worry about suddenly depowering like the others did. 

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t still help the Guardians, oath or not. 

But still, it might be nice to have a group, someone to say to whom he belonged with, instead of always being on his own. 

Something nudged him and he looked up to find Aster dressed in his coat and bandolier again, sunglasses perched on the end of his nose, the pipe sticking out of the side of his mouth with a curious look on his face. 

“Sorry.” Jack murmured, running a hand over his head. “Just thinking about what you said.” Questions he’d never thought to ask before. Questions with answers he wasn’t so sure about yet. 

Questions he needed to answer, other than an automatic ‘yes’ without thinking about what he was getting himself into. 

Aster chuckled, the pipe spoke creating a spiralling halo above his head. He opened his mouth to say something further, words that disappeared as North’s cheerful voice boomed out. “There you are!” 

“We’ve been waitin’ fer yonks. What took ya so long?” Aster drawled, the Pooka’s amused expression faded to one of smug superiority. One that Jack recognised as calculated to get the most amount of irritation out of whoever was around. It was hard to fool a fellow trickster. 

-Which went both ways, as North ignored Aster’s comment, riding the Reindeer down to where they were, Tooth and Sandy slowly drifting behind, Sandy mostly asleep as happy little visions of dancing eggs drifted around his head. 

“Bah.” North shook a finger towards Aster. “Always with tunnels. Always with the need for secrecy. What is wrong with being seen once in a while?" 

Aster tapped the pipe upside down in his hand, dumping the ashes onto a bare spot of ground, where they sizzled and died. "When people know you're there, they come after ya." He said grimly, tucking the pipe away once more. "Now ya guarding or not?"

"I am helping, I am helping." North waved a hand. "... How do I help?" 

"Not so sure how much of a help ya can be." Aster said, not entirely unkindly. "Frostbite, however-"

Everyone's heads turned towards Jack, who stared back at them. "Me?" 

"C'mon." Aster motioned for them to follow him towards the tunnels, jumping from rock to rock to avoid squishing the colourful eggs. Jack hopped as well, using the wind to pushing him just the slightest bit farther than he could usually jump, rather than gliding in case the cool breeze hurt the eggs. North followed a little bit slower, Tooth and Sandy floating after him. 

As they got closer, Jack noticed that each tunnel had a landmass carved into the top, explaining where it went. "We'll do this in waves, followin' the sun." Aster raised his voice so they could all hear him. "South Pacific, Asia, Europe and Africa, then the Americas."

"Logical." Tooth agreed, wings buzzing as she floated above them. 

They stopped in front of the giant tunnel with Australia, New Zealand, and a smattering of tinier islands carved on it. Aster tapped the ground next to the tunnel, huge dandelion looking plants sprouting up. Aster picked one of the seeds off of it and released it into the tunnel, the mushroom looking seed glowing with a pale blue light, just enough to illuminate the tunnel. 

"Usually, that's enough for me googies ta get around." Aster said, looking at Jack. "But we need somethin' a little brighter."

"Okay-?" Jack drawled. "How do I help?"

Aster pointed up to the top of the tunnel. "Frost as much of the top o' the tunnels as ya can, as far as ya can. Not the floors. Don't go too overboard right now, we gotta lotta ground ta cover." 

Jack nodded, hopping up to the top of the tunnel and peered through it, listening to the wind rattle around inside. There had to be thousands of miles of tunnels, connected to just this opening. It'd be easier if he could just fly through it all, but then he'd have to get back to do the next tunnel too. 

"WIND!" He called, raising his staff. The wind whistled through the cavern, then charged at Jack. Jack braced himself against the rock, touching the top of the tunnel with his staff, creating a wave of ice and frost. The wind grabbed it, carrying the ice through the network of tunnels. 

When Jack glanced back at everyone else, he found the eggs crouched on the ground, cuddling around rocks and the larger Sentinel eggs, who had gathered many under their stout little legs. Aster, Tooth, and North had their arms wrapped around themselves, chilled, but not frozen. 

Sandy peered down the tunnel with a curious expression, the cold temperature not bothering him at all. 

"Sorry." Jack grimaced, letting go of the tunnel and dropping back down to the ground. The air felt nice to him, but obviously not so much to the others. North motioned Tooth closer, tucking the Tooth Fairy into his large warm coat, where she cuddled in with a grateful chirp. 

"It's apples." Aster assured him, pulling another seed of the dandelion and sending it down the tunnel, where it floated up, bumping into the now frozen one. " _Little_ cold won't hurt my googies."

Jack snorted, catching the warning. 'Little' being the operative term. 

The light refracted off the ice almost like a prism, brightening the tunnel a lot more than the single one had done without the ice. Jack grinned at Aster, who smirked back, one eyebrow cocked up, silently asking if Jack was up for this. 

Jack laughed in return. "Let's do this."

* * *

“Take it.” Jack said, holding the memory box with the image of his human self on the side. Tooth stared at him, her large violet eyes confused, before hesitating taking the box from his hand.

He wanted it, he wanted the memories in it so badly it was like a siren song. A lure, a temptation. 

A trap. 

“Where did you get this?” She whispered, her voice shaking slightly as she cradled his memories in her hands. He twitched, afraid she was going to open it, afraid of what was inside, what it might change, and why. 

Why it had been just _handed_ to him. Especially now. 

“The shadows took me.” Jack growled, fingers sliding across his staff, feeling dirty, as if he still had Pitch’s shadows climbing all over him. 

The plan had worked, at least for the first couple of landmasses. The Guardians escorted the eggs through the tunnels, mindful of the flickering shadows dancing along the edges, trying to grab the eggs and smash them. Once they got the surface, the eggs knew what to do, scattering and hiding in the glow of the rising sun. 

The shadows got more aggressive, teeth and claws lashing out at them instead of the eggs. Sandy sent trails of his sand along the tunnels, adding his own golden glow to the floating seed things. 

And then Jack turned a corner and vanished into darkness. 

Pitch's lair wasn't something he'd ever tried to imagine before, or even thought if the King of Fear even had one. But even if he had, the piles of shiny gold memory boxes and dark hanging ornamental cages filled with Tooth's Fairies wouldn't have been a part of it.

The whole thing had smelled of a trick. 

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, the scent of cherry blossom tobacco and musk, and looked up to find Aster staring down at him with a concerned expression. The large rabbit didn’t look so good, ragged around the edges. “Whatever Pitch told ya.” Aster said, sincerity ringing in each word. “He lies.” 

Jack’s breath caught in his throat, making a hiccuping sound. “He said…”

Pitch’s smooth voice echoing in the large dark caverns, always disappearing just before Jack could make contact, lash out at him. Whispers, that they’d never accept him, that this was all his fault, he always messed things up, was messing up right now...

“He lied.” North rumbled, his voice coming from Jack’s other side, another warm arm wrapping around his shoulders, bringing the scent of wool and cookies. North pulled Jack so he was leaning against North’s large bulk, somehow pulling Aster and Tooth in as well. Jack felt Sandy’s arms wrapping around his legs, all of them together. 

Jack took a deep breath, soaking in the contact, using it to fight Pitch’s words, that still echoed inside of his brain.

They accepted him. They really did. 

“... I ain’t the huggy type.” Aster grumbled into Jack’s hair, but didn’t pull away, making his complaint invalid. Jack giggled in response, prompting the others to as well. 

They pulled apart, faint smiles on everyone’s faces. At least until they saw the broken eggs again, the remains of Easter. 

“We’re not going to be able to get anymore out, are we?” Tooth ventured sadly. 

“Don’t think it likely.” Aster shook his head, looking sad. “Not with out riskin’ anyone’s life, and we had two close calls tonight. Three, if ya count Tooth.” 

“Who are the other two?” Jack asked, confused. 

“Sandy and ya.” Aster gave Jack a strange look, as if he should have realised that. “Wot? Ya didn’t think Pitch coulda just as easily killed ya as let ya go?” 

Jack swallowed, not having put it in that context. Pitch had been playing with him, like a cat with a mouse. 

“We got half the globe served.” Aster sighed, his shoulders slumping. He looked tired and worn out in a way that made Jack’s chest hurt, the same way Tooth’s feathers falling out had. “Ain’t pleased, but that’ll hafta do. For now.” 

“Is better than Pitch expected.” North said with blood thirsty humour. “Although it is pity we cannot take the fight to him.”

“... What if we could?” Jack asked, a tentative thread of hope blooming in his chest. 

“We don’t know where he is.” Tooth gave him a confused look.

Jack shook his head, a small grin forming. “I do. North, you wouldn’t happen to have a globe, would you?” 

“I think I might.” North, a wicked grin that would have looked more in place on a crocodile than a human. He patted himself down, gleefully pulling a snow globe out of his coat. “Where are we going?” 

Jack smirked. “Where it all started, of course. Burgess.” 

North let out a loud cackle before he whispered their destination and threw the globe, which exploded into a bright colourful portal. Tooth let out a growl as she dove into it, reminding Jack of a pissed off Mama Bear in search of her cubs. North let out a joyous battle cry as rushed into it, a grim looking Sandy following. 

“... I hate these bloody things.” Aster complained, pulling out a boomerang and spinning it in his hand. Jack laughed as he jumped into the portal, Aster grumbling at his heels.

* * *

Jack had not intended for the kids to join the fight. In fact, if he had been planning it out, that would have been one of the last things he would have meant to do. 

Mid-morning in England was just before dawn in Burgess, the town Jack generally called home appearing peaceful and still when they arrived. It had felt wrong, very wrong, the shadows feeling darker, meaner. 

And then the Nightmares had attacked. The giant black sandy horses had charged at them, trying to split them up, take them out one by one. They’d had to fight to stay together, to watch each other’s backs. Aster summoned his large stone egg sentinels from the tunnels to aid them, North opening more portals, bringing his Yeti to the fight. 

Pitch arrived, and did manage to separate them, all five of them taking turns attacking Pitch and the Nightmares, like some sort of strange choreographed dance that Jack had never realised he’d known the moves to. 

But their flying through the air and into buildings, and through walls had the unexpected side effect of waking up sleeping children. Sleeping children who did not like the Boogeyman, and were brave enough to stand up to Pitch.

Kids who could see Jack, thanks to a goof up on Pitch’s side. The Boogyman had hissed that Jack Frost wouldn’t be able to save them with his little snowforts and snowballs. Jamie had put together Jack’s snowfilled walls of protection and supplies of ammo together with a spirit, and suddenly Jack had his first believer. 

His first believers, the rest quickly following, once Jamie announced he could see Jack. Jamie, Sophie, Pippa, Monty, Clyde, Claude, and Cupcake. His believers. 

They’d given the Guardians enough of an edge for Tooth to fly away, following Jack’d directions to the bed in the forest that lead to Pitch’s lair. Even Jack could tell when Tooth freed her girls from the cages, working their magics on the boxes, restoring good memories to the children of the world. 

North and Sandy’s lagging energy suddenly increased, Sandy able to take back his dreamsand, transforming the black to shining gold. The children helped, their touch transforming the Nightmares, which turned into fantastical shapes and animals. Golden streams of sand flew into the air, granting the sleeping children of the world good dreams once more. 

Leaving Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, to fight them on his own. Three Guardians at near full power, two pissed off spirits, and a handful of children. 

Pitch turned tail and ran. 

He didn’t get far, flailing sliding across the ice of Jack’s lake just as the sun rose. Jack hung back as Tooth delivered a mean right hook at Pitch’s face that sent the Boogeyman flying, furious over the treatment of her girls. North monologued about the Guardians always being there as long as a single child believed in them that Pitch laughed and scoffed at. 

And then the Nightmares appeared, sensing fear. It was an odd feeling, watching the horses drag Pitch away, remembering the fear that Jack had felt, and not wishing it on anyone, not even the Boogeyman. 

He was distracted by such thoughts by North announcing that with Pitch defeated, it was time. Time to make Jack a Guardian. 

Pride and Joy in his throat, Jack turned to give the Guardians his answer.

* * *

“Didn’t think I’d see ya again.” Aster’s voice drawled, distracting Jack from his explorations of the Warren. It was just a hair above comfortable for him in the underground complex of tunnels and caverns, but not terribly bad. Not enough to make him want to stop looking around. There were so many strange and unusual plants, strange carvings, and walking eggs to make him want to stop. 

Jack straightened, taking in Aster’s casual sprawl, and the lack of clothing except for the bracers. He held the pipe he was smoking in one hand, the scent of cherry blossoms and growing earth wafting from it. He looked comfortable, aside from the distrustful look on his face. 

“You said I could come back if I could find a way in-?” Jack reminded him, worried that he’d taken the invitation the wrong way. Especially since he’d found the carved flat egg-shaped rock next to his lake, the carving looking a lot like the ones he’d seen in the Warren. 

He got a dry chuckle in return. “Reckon I did.” Aster said, sitting up. “Just wasn’t expectin’ ya to.” 

“Figured I’d be with the Guardians?” Jack smirked. 

When North had said it was time to make it official, to make Jack a Guardian, he had thanked them, but said not yet. He hadn’t known why the Moon chose him, and he didn’t think he’d been the biggest of helpers in the fight. 

Thankfully, North, Tooth, and Sandy had been understanding. Aster had just nodded, and taken that as his cue to leave, telling Jack he was welcome back, if he could find a way in. North had clapped Jack on the back and told him not to take it personally, Aster was abrupt with everyone. 

What he hadn’t expected when he’d turned down becoming a Guardian is that it didn’t seem to matter to the other Guardians. North had taken them all back to the Pole, fed them good food, then Tooth and Sandy had to get back to their jobs. North had then proceeded to feed Jack _more_ food, then giving him a room to sleep the food coma off in. 

A room that he had then made quite clear to Jack that he was welcome to, any time. He’d stopped by and used it a couple of times, both he and the Yeti coming to an uneasy silent truce over his presence there. Jack kept his hands and his ice to himself and they grudgingly got along. 

Tooth, or more specifically, Baby Tooth, had been helping him go through his memories. He understood a little better now, why the Moon chose him. That he’d always been a Guardian who watched over and protected children, even before he’d saved his sister and fallen through the ice. 

And he’d ridden with Sandy a few times on his cloud. They didn’t talk much, but the Sandman seemed to enjoy his company whenever Jack tagged along. 

But really, his life hadn’t changed much. He had people now he could hang with… Occasionally. Tooth and Sandy in particular were busy with their own jobs and really didn’t have much free time. North had a bit more, but he often had his hands full dealing with toys, trends, and the Yeti. 

The biggest change in his life wasn’t the Guardians, but the children. The children of Burgess saw him now, all of them. His name and story was spreading by word of mouth, but it was slow going. He couldn’t help the flush of happiness and joy he got whenever someone glanced over and actually _saw_ him. 

That spreading of belief didn’t have anything to do with the Guardians, or with the Man in the Moon. And after 300 years of silence, Jack really didn’t feel beholding to the Man in the Moon. He wasn’t a toy to be played with and ignored depending on some far off person’s whims. 

Aster made a thoughtful sound as he puffed on his pipe and glancing away. Jack felt his smile gentle, become fond. 

“My answer hasn’t changed.” Jack said, hopping on top of the egg shaped rocks and balancing on one foot. He jumped to a nearby rock, landing on the other foot, making a game of it. “Maybe I’ll take the oath some day, but not any time soon. I’ll help when they ask, but I’m happy as things are now.” 

He didn’t thank Aster for his advice, for making Jack stop and think about it. Jack had been so desperate for contact, for acceptance, that he probably would have agreed. He didn’t think it would have been a bad choice if he had agreed, but he liked keeping his independance. 

Jack Frost hadn’t answered to anyone in centuries, and he wasn’t going to start now. 

Aster harumphed, looking disinterested. “Ya didn’t need to come down here ta tell me that.” He grumbled. 

“Nope.” Jack agreed, casually hopping closer Aster. “Came to talk to you about something else.”

“Ooh?” One of Aster’s eyebrows rose suspiciously, but he didn’t move as Jack took a couple more jumps and crouched next to the Pooka. 

“When you lit your pipe after we herded the eggs, I thought the scent of your tobacco was familiar.” Jack said, reaching a finger forward to tap the stem of the pipe, quickly before he could frost it. “It took me a while to remember where I’d smelled it before. It had been just the one time, but I never forgot.”

Aster frowned, shifting uncomfortably. “Lotta people have cherry tobacco.” He said, blowing an egg-shaped smoke ring. “Nothin’ special about it.”

“Except that cherry tobacco doesn’t smell like Spring time.” Jack grinned at Aster’s attempt at deflection. “And I’ve been trying to track that particular scent for years.”

“Fer what? Aster growled, bristling defensively. 

Jack leaned forward so he could brush Aster’s nose with his own. “Thank you.” He said sincerely, pulling back with a soft grin. 

The Blizzard of ‘68 had been a low point in his life. He’d been so lonely and so angry and so depressed, he’d been at the point that he hadn’t cared anymore. He’d curled up at the base of a tree in a fugue state, unheeding of the blizzard that his emotions had created, dumping a fair amount of snow across a huge wide area. 

He’d just wanted one person to see him. One. 

And then he’d felt warm hands, checking his face, his shoulders and his hands, smelling the scent of cherry blossoms and musk as clothing brushed his face. It’d been so rapid that at first he’d thought he’d imagined it. 

And then he’d woke up to find himself loosely wrapped in some sort of vine he didn’t recognise, oak leaves and moss covering him like a protective blanket. A couple of snapdragons, a few snowdrops, and a single purple daisy were scattered over and around him. 

That had been how he discovered his ‘Centre’, as North called it. The _Joy_ that had bubbled up from deep inside that someone had _noticed_ him, and cared enough to not only protectively cover him up, but leave a message as well. 

He’d paid attention to the Victorian flower language when it had been common, entertained by the secret codes. Oak leaves for Bravery, Snapdragons for Strength, Snowdrops for Hope, and purple Aster… 

The Aster had confused him for ages. Asters meant ‘Love’ or ‘Trust’, and Jack couldn’t think of anyone who would love him. 

He’d wondered when he’d met the Easter Bunny, named Aster. The scent of cherry blossom and warm earth tobacco smoke just cemented it. Aster had left his namesake as a signature, only Jack hadn’t understood what it meant for decades. 

Aster stared at him, brilliant green eyes round and startled. Then Aster shook himself, glancing away. “Didn’t think ya remembered.” He muttered, clearly embarrassed. 

Jack laughed. He doubted he could ever _forget_. That single act of kindness had kept him going, joyful and hopeful ever since. 

Aster gave him a dry look. “It’s a good thing I don’t fret over Easter like North does Christmas.” He said. “Or I might’ve bopped ya one instead, fer ruining my holiday.” 

“Sorry about that.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn’t meant to, it had just been bad timing on his part. Either that or really good timing, seeing how it worked out. 

Aster huffed, but didn’t seem too terribly put out by it, which made Jack relax. 

He didn’t really know what to say. He hadn't really had much of a plan besides 'Find the Warren, thank Aster', which he had successfully accomplished. But he didn’t really want to leave either. Even if he was a grump, Jack kind of enjoyed Aster’s company. And Aster hadn’t thrown him out yet, which seemed to be a hopeful sign. 

"So... Ah. I know you said that you prefer other people to keep out of your business and all." Jack ventured nervously, fiddling with his staff. "But if you’ve got some time, was thinking maybe you could show me around? Without the need to grow and paint a couple thousand eggs-?"

Aster gave him a slow, thoughtful look, before the corner of his mouth curved up. "Reckon I could." He said with a dry tone, casually snuffing the pipe out and setting it aside where it couldn't catch anything on fire. He stretched, arms reaching over his head, Jack admiring the ripple of fur over strong lithe muscle. 

"-If ya can keep up with this old Pooka, that is." Aster smirked, then took off running like a shot. 

"Hey!" Jack shouted, then let out a whoop! as he followed after.

He'd show Aster who was the slow one around here. 

-fin-


End file.
